[hicr49]

Has anyone compared the Bartok (DAC portion only) and LINA DAC side by side? Curious if the two DACs have quite different sound characteristics from each other?

 

[SuperBurrito]

Has anyone compared the Bartok (DAC portion only) and LINA DAC side by side? Curious if the two DACs have quite different sound characteristics from each other?

I believe this has been covered on the dCS forum. Lots of good info there:
https://dcs.community/

 

[samwang]

Kind of curious about Lina's headamp vs Bartok's headamp, Is lina's a clear success?

 

[adrianm]

Kind of curious about Lina's headamp vs Bartok's headamp, Is lina's a clear success?

It’s a clear failure unfortunately.

Edit : To elaborate, I've compared the full stack to my current rig, and the Lina amp is a considerable downgrade from my Ferrum Oor stack with the extremely efficient Elites. For Susvara and harder to drive headphones, a lot of people complain it can barely get them loud enough and has a clear current delivery limitation. I don't think it's competitive at above the 2.5k pricepoint. Ebay is also already full of them, just as confirmation.
Then again some people liked the stack with the Abyss/ Susvara, so some might have not switched it to high gain. Or set the Lina amp to 6V. Who knows. Regardless. It sounded small and congested to me.

 

[samwang]

It’s a clear failure unfortunately.

Edit : To elaborate, I've compared the full stack to my current rig, and the Lina amp is a considerable downgrade from my Ferrum Oor stack with the extremely efficient Elites. For Susvara and harder to drive headphones, a lot of people complain it can barely get them loud enough and has a clear current delivery limitation. I don't think it's competitive at above the 2.5k pricepoint. Ebay is also already full of them, just as confirmation.
Then again some people liked the stack with the Abyss/ Susvara, so some might have not switched it to high gain. Or set the Lina amp to 6V. Who knows. Regardless. It sounded small and congested to me.

Interesting. I would think the dac part would be the same. I'm currently thinking of changing a dac, judging from the bugdet It's a bartok lina level. Any other recommends?

 

[adrianm]

Interesting. I would think the dac part would be the same. I'm currently thinking of changing a dac, judging from the bugdet It's a bartok lina level. Any other recommends?

No, the dac part is amazing Coming from a biased Chord fan. Some people I know prefer it to the Bartok. It measures slightly better If I remember correctly but i'm sure that's not the reason. Different boards, different filters, It's not really the same dac as the Bartok.
Recommendations for a headphone amp? The Oor is a much cheaper significantly better amp. I imagine each will have their own taste, a lot of good options out there. I plan on getting the Lina dac+clock (it's a must have) to use with the Zaehl Hm1.

 

[adrianm]

Since there is no separate thread... Is anyone here using the Rossini with headphones?

 

[pippen99]

Several of us here.

 

[adrianm]

Several of us here.

Really hard to get info on the Rossini with headphones so that's good Objectivity is even harder to come by in this hobby but here goes .
Was the Apex upgrade worthwhile? In my mind the Rossini itself seems overkill, not to mention the clock (though i only loved the Lina with the clock)
Any regrets on not having Expanse vs a Bartok/Lina?
What's the power/cable situation with the Rossini, how sensitive is it to these things? Clock cable recommendation?

 

[Andrewteee]

I have the Bartok but I’m considering the Rossini APEX. I use a separate headphone amp (Ferrum Oor/Hypsos).

If the Rossini is better, I can’t see why it would not also be better in a headphone system

Naturally, the rest of the chain has to be up to the task too.

I’ll be able to get my two channel system out of storage in a couple of months but I love the HP system with the dCS DAC too!

 

[pippen99]

The Apex upgrade was very worthwhile. The soundstage was deeper and wider which made for more separation of instruments. The Rossini is on the edge of overkill. I chose the Rossini because my previous DAC was a FPGA based DAC but after numerous software updates all of which made noticeable improvements it had reached the performance limit of the FPGA. I like the idea that not having to replace the entire unit when upgrade is made. The clock is essential. After listening with the clock turning off the clock leaves everything kind of flat and lifeless.

I have never heard a Bartok or Lina so do not really know what Expanse sounds like. I was also under the impression that Expanse was not available with Lina.

I am a big believer in upgrade cables for I/C and Headphone not so much power cables. Especially on power cables I generally bought used. For new I like the Cerious Graphene cables as a combination of quality and reasonable price. I use Double Helix for all my I/C and main headphone cables. Peter built me a pair of custom clock cables for a reasonable price. Some have recommended the Black Cat mini-Tron cables but they are really expensive and impossible to find used(maybe that should tell me something).

I draw the line at moving to a Vivaldi for a headphone system.

 

[adrianm]

The Apex upgrade was very worthwhile. The soundstage was deeper and wider which made for more separation of instruments. The Rossini is on the edge of overkill. I chose the Rossini because my previous DAC was a FPGA based DAC but after numerous software updates all of which made noticeable improvements it had reached the performance limit of the FPGA. I like the idea that not having to replace the entire unit when upgrade is made. The clock is essential. After listening with the clock turning off the clock leaves everything kind of flat and lifeless.

I have never heard a Bartok or Lina so do not really know what Expanse sounds like. I was also under the impression that Expanse was not available with Lina.

I am a big believer in upgrade cables for I/C and Headphone not so much power cables. Especially on power cables I generally bought used. For new I like the Cerious Graphene cables as a combination of quality and reasonable price. I use Double Helix for all my I/C and main headphone cables. Peter built me a pair of custom clock cables for a reasonable price. Some have recommended the Black Cat mini-Tron cables but they are really expensive and impossible to find used(maybe that should tell me something).

I draw the line at moving to a Vivaldi for a headphone system.

Well it was your comments on the dCS thread that made me get a Rossini + clock (used) over the Lina + clock combo, even though i've never heard it. Going by how much I loved the Lina, i'm sure i won't regret it .
Expanse was a large part of why the Lina appealed to me. Huge soundstage increase, while sounding more natural than any Crossfeed...sometimes. Sometimes it sounded super artificial. So I figured I'd give that up for the Rossini since the universal feedback is it's closer to the Vivaldi than the Bartok.

I use all silver cables as well, didn't see much change with power cables, but in my current place power filters are a must and make a massive difference. I have some Oyaide silver RCA's with BNC adapters but I know that's a no-no for clock cables so I'll probably sell them and get the BNC version.

I draw the Lina at the Vivaldi too... I wanted to downsize. Cost aside, no way I'm getting 3 huge boxes + the headphone amp. Also, even the Rossini seems a bit of an old platform to me, but looks like Apex is breathing new life into it. I'll probably upgrade down the line in a year or 2. Headphone amp upgrade is next

 

[pauljenkins]

I've got a Bartok with Rossini Clock connected to a Riviera aic-10 headphone amp driving my susvaras. Further down the line I think my next move would be the Rossini apex dac .

 

[adrianm]

I've got a Bartok with Rossini Clock connected to a Riviera aic-10 headphone amp driving my susvaras. Further down the line I think my next move would be the Rossini apex dac .

Think I've seen your setup on the dCS thread as well I'm waiting on a Zaehl Hm1 to replace my Oor next year and will consider the Apex upgrade after that

 

[adrianm]

I chose the Rossini because my previous DAC was a FPGA based DAC but after numerous software updates all of which made noticeable improvements it had reached the performance limit of the FPGA.

Which dac was that? Curious if anyone here owned a Dave before the Rossini and how they compare. Still have a week to go before mine arrives